Today I received this excerpt from a Rupert Brooke poem in the mail from my friend Stella.

Rupert Brooke

What a lovely thing it is to receive a poem in the mail! There should be more of it. I think I am going to start doing it.
Stella told me about the poem on the weekend. The phrase that rung out for her, the thing that Brooke cited as a thing he loved, was "The benison of hot water." I loved the sound of it, but I only had half an idea of what a "benison" was. Turns out it's a blessing.
I was struck by the image of "last year's ferns" - a smell I can almost summon perfectly.
I must read Brooke again.
Here is the excerpt - a beautifully wistful piece of poetic memoir: